Shameless in Hillwood
by HolmesSlice
Summary: The Gallaghers head to Hillwood to deal with an issue that ruin Ian's life. In the meantime they're staying at Sunset Arms and meets the interesting family of Sunset Arms, and some of the teenagers of the once PS 118. I'm giving it a rating of M because of the swearing but if it fits the teen rating I am going to change it.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **All rights reserved

**Author's Note: **Please read and review. I'd really appreciate it.

_"All parents damage their children.  
It cannot be helped. Youth, like pristine glass,  
absorbs the prints of its handlers.  
Some parents smudge, others crack,  
a few shatter childhoods completely  
into jagged little pieces,  
beyond repair."_

_― Mitch Albom, The Five People You Meet in Heaven_

**Shameless in Hillwood (working title)**

**Chapter One: Tired of this shit**

"Shit!" Fiona cursed out loudly. It had been another chaotic morning in the Gallagher household. Debbie had already left for school. Liam smelled as if as a manure truck passed by. Aside from the typical craziness of getting half-assed lunches ready, permission slips signed, and a detention slip for Carl she felt as if her world was falling apart. She received the letter from Carl which was already a week late. She immediately knew what it was going to be about. It was similar to one they received last year.

"Fuck! CARL" Fiona yelled, "This is another parent-teacher conference isn't it. Didn't we tell you to cut the shit and keep the violence to regulated sanctioned violence for kids? Hell we let you blow shit up in the science fair."

"They didn't like my art." Carl responded flatly.

"Seriously?" Fiona exasperatedly responded, "What the hell is it with these damn hippie teachers? You've already stopped the biting, kicking, and punching. What do they want now?"

"I don't know," Carl said again as he took his brown paper bag, "they want a meeting with dad."

"Of course they do," Fiona said through gritted teeth, "we don't even know where the hell Frank is."

Fiona followed Carl to the front door. She rubbed his head and gingerly placed a kiss on his head. There was a lot Fiona had to do that day. There was a lot on her mind. She had to take Debbie to a doctor's appointment that afternoon. Fiona would then have to make her rounds at the grocery store to get the deals and bum diapers off other mothers. Liam was already growing out of them and she had to think how she'd budget the pull-ups in. Fiona knew Liam would have be potty-trained quickly, that would make things much cheaper for her. Fiona yelled after Carl.

"No blowing shit up, no bullying and remember those damn teachers like rainbows, glitter, and hope," Fiona yelled, "Just make shit up all right!"

Carl nodded and waved as he headed down the street. Fiona took a deep breath and back into the house. She cleaned up the kitchen in record time. With Liam's diaper changed, Fiona got ready for day at work cleaning up a clogged sewer. That would give her seventeen dollars an hour, and working from 9:30 to 3:30 with that frustrating half hour unpaid lunch would give her about ninety dollars before taxes.

Fiona would have to worry about the household budget later. Right then she had to get ready, take the train and get to work. It was a dirty, disgusting, foul-smelling job but at that pay rate it helped with the bills. Who was she to deny a job? With Liam in tow, she walked over to V's place. Thankfully it wasn't V's live streaming day.

"What's up girl," V said smiling, "got Liam for me?"

"Yeah," Fiona said giving V Liam's diaper bag who draped it onto one arm, and hoisted Liam into V's other free arm, "I gotta do that cleanup gig. But I'm gonna drop by the motel and I'll pick up the toiletries for us later."

"I hear ya," Veronica said smiling, "You gonna be leaving at 4?"

"Nah," Fiona responded, "They're letting me stay until 3:30. I should be back by no later than 4:30. Gotta take Debbie to her doctor's appointment at 5:30."

"Thank god for late appointments," Veronica replied.

"You're telling me," Fiona agreed, "Then I gotta make a stop that damn grocery store… ugh I hate seeing that smug bastard. Plus those women are such bitches."

"They still giving you a hard time?"

"Yes and now I can barely use any coupons," Fiona said frustrated, "it's like they totally can't see that the old woman just wanted some. Course I let them know. I mean they were totally played. Oh and put a notice to find Frank."

"What you need him for?"

"Another parent teacher conference for Carl," Fiona stated, though Veronica had already known which Gallagher even before Fiona said Carl's name.

"Sure thing, I'll let the bar know and Kev will get the word out."

Veronica and Fiona said their goodbyes. Fiona had an hour to get her job worksite. She was definitely thankful that the site was close by. The next six hours she spent cleaning up. It only took an hour for her sense of smell to acclimate to the foul smell. Plus her duct tape had stayed put letting her have clean feet for the appointment later.

With the doctor's appointment done, the groceries purchased, and the toiletries delivered Fiona could finally start on dinner. After nuking the chicken nuggets, slicing up the boiled potatoes and the store brand mac-n-cheese she yelled for her siblings. After dinner Fiona talked about the parent-teacher conference, and the information about Frank whereabouts meaning she had no clue where he was.

She only had a few days to find Frank. Thankfully the end of the year was fast approaching and that would mean that everyone would find some sort of work to bring in money to last them through the winter. The squirrel fund was securely hidden away especially after Fiona drank the kool-aid before and believed Monica had changed and was sorely disappointed. However as much as the Gallagher siblings were dismayed that despite Frank being a total fucking asshole it turned out he was the good one. Though it was not saying much.

Even with the occasional well-paying job it was always temporary. The seventeen an hour job was usually a few times a month gig. The work she had selling cups was terminated when the company had to lay off some employees. Of course because she was some of the last hired, she was the first to be laid-off. She was receiving some unemployment but it was going to end soon especially when she was only there for a couple of months. The three tier system wasn't in place since Congress had vetoed it for that year. The economy was in the pits and that meant that she'd be passed over for the office jobs that she'd get from to time to more qualified applicants.

Tonight was the special night when all the Gallaghers settled into the living room to watch whatever was on Discovery or Animal Planet. It was a stipulation of Fiona's. She made that whatever television they watched they would watch it together when able and it would be a somewhat educational show. Fiona had figured that it would at least give them some more education that a broken-down, Southside public school couldn't always give even if it was one of the better schools.

The first crisis of many was well underway. Fiona was distracted throughout the show wondering how she was going to deal with the parent-teacher conference. She was certain that it was the same female teacher from last year that was giving her grief. It seemed that the teacher had a chip on her shoulder about seeing Carl not get expelled. However Carl had "turned around" his time at school. Fiona wasn't sure why there was such a vendetta. Fiona had the mantra of "no fucks with the Gallaghers" running through her head.

Lip turned his head and whispered, "Okay Fi what's up?"

"Not only do we have a situation with Ian running away," Fiona sighed, "we're having another parent-teacher conference this year."

"Well shit," Lip replied, "any sign of Frank?"

"No," Fiona said shaking her head, "but I've asked V to put the word out to everyone even the people who hates him. I figure that being a father is such a torture that they'd love to see Frank squirm."

Lip let out a scoff. "Yeah good plan."

They had managed to find Frank. He had been staying at a shelter that offered alcoholic anonymous however knowing Frank he might have been trying to get cleaned up but he'd only move onto to something else. He was sitting at a table eating his soup and bread when he looked up.

"Finally my family cares to see me. Do you know the struggles I've been going through?" Frank said with disgust, "I get busted by the man for taking care of business in the street yet they don't offer any means of relieving oneself in public. Here's the hoot they then cite for something they know people will do. And you know why? So that the politicians can get their second jet, so that they do some fine dining and don't get me started about their accepting bribes from the companies that want to enslave us into buying the latest product while having the jobs shipped out to third world countries and us Americans are left jobless. Do you know why? Because they're greedy, they don't care about us. They're the real terrorists and yet the government gives them handouts. They give the ones who don't need it so that people like me, good honest people, are left out in the cold!"

"Frank!" Fiona shouted, "Shut up."

"We need to have you come to Carl's parent teacher conference."

"No way!" Frank responded.

"You're coming," Fiona said angrily, "You're going to, for the few times in your life, actually give a shit for your kids."

"I care for my kids!" Frank said another bite of soup, "I'm giving you the best kind of education you can ever receive. The truth of life. The fact that you can't rely namby pamby bullshit that schools are trying shove down your throats. It's not about peace, coming together, but watching your own back, learning to survive. It's crazy out there and you have to know how to survive."

"You know what?" Fiona responded despaired at the situation at hand, "all I'm saying is show up, lie if you have to, appease the man and we'll score you some oxy."

"I want a bottle's worth," Frank said thinking about the deal, "and I want the good stuff none of that oxy acetaminophen crap."

"Fine," Fiona responded, "You get it if you successfully bullshit your way out of it."

"Fiona!" Frank said admonished, "Do you not trust your own father?"

"Fuck no," Fiona said exasperatedly, "So right now you're coming home and getting cleaned up. It's tonight and I need you to make a good appearance. Just lie."

That night Frank had fortunately cooperated however that was only because of Fiona's promise. He didn't do it for the goodness of his heart. He certainly didn't do it for the love of a parent has for their children. Fiona wasn't even sure if Frank really loved his children or only saw them as a means of opening up credit cards, and getting government assistance.

Everyone shuffles into the house and while one burden has been lifted another is still weighing them down. When Ian had run away Fiona did everything she could to find him. However the police were less than willing to help some kids from the wrong side of the tracks. No one knew where he could have run away to or why. Although the motive as to why was easily explainable much to Fiona's frustration. A look into their childhood and home life would easily give over a hundred reasons why any one of the Gallagher children would want to run away.

It wasn't until January, a few weeks after Ian ran away, did everything make sense and in the worst possible way. When Lip had tried to set up his documents, application and transcripts to be sent to the University of Chicago did they all get the chilling news. Philip Gallagher had enlisted.

"But I'm fucking right here!" Lip shouted while pointing to his face when he spoke to enrollment.

"Yes, however, we are showing a hold on your application. It seems you enlisted a few weeks prior." The woman behind the desk stated.

She was not going to budge. Lip was going to have to figure out how and why the hell Ian was going to risk federal punishment and who knew what else. He had to find out where Ian was. When he did he was going to beat the shit out of Ian. "What the hell was Ian thinking?" Lip thought.

"Okay," Lip said evenly, "Where the fuck am I then."

"Do I look like the army recruitment office?" The woman scoffed.

After a pregnant pause, the woman was clearly not going to offer up more than what Lip would ask. "Then give me the phone number and address of the recruit office."

"Fine," the woman said as she quickly jotted the information down and thrust it toward Lip. The moment Lip had taken a few steps away from the counter he heard a loud "Next!"

They had to take the subway back to the recruitment office. Lip, Fiona, Debbie, Carl rushed into the office. They had to see the office at the recruitment office. The receptionist had mentioned needing to make an appointment. Lip frowned still irritated from before.

"It's an emergency," Lip responded, "like an actual life changing emergency and we NEED help now before it's too late."

Lip spoke to the ROTC representative discussing the issue with Ian's disappearance and the fact that it was due to the fact that he had falsely altered the documents so that he was under the name of Philip Gallagher rather than Ian Gallagher. Lip knew the consequences could not be good at all if Ian was caught but he still held out hope that there was something that they could do so that Ian didn't jeopardize his future. Fiona and Lip were still furious at Ian doing such a stupid move as to jeopardize the career that he was working towards.

The officer looked over Ian's records and had confirmed the seriousness of Ian's falsifying documents. However thankfully there was still a chance that Ian may not face consequences as dire such as facing imprisonment and fines totally ten thousand dollars. It was contingent that Ian was still in DEP or Delayed Enlistment Program, which could be that he could stay in this program for up to 365 days, and not shipped off to boot camp.

If he had been there was little he could do. He would be court martialed, face a hearing, and have a dishonorable discharge. Ian's crime would be seen as a felony. He'd never be able to enlist again. Who knew how the public would see this kind of criminal record.

To their relief he was still in DEP. Who knew how long though? It was imperative that they'd immediately have Ian immediately confess. They weren't sure how the army would look on this but hopefully his coming clean would allow him a second chance.

Fiona took a deep breath. With work being so slim now days and her not wanting to do her own "stream" the way V and Kev did, there was only option left really. The Gallaghers would have to head to the city near the army base. They were going to have to head to the city of Hillwood


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **All rights reserved

**Author's Note: **Please read and review. I'd really appreciate it.

_"Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment."_

― Rita Mae Brown, Alma Mater

**Chapter Two – Wishing for the best, preparing for the worst**

With the news of Ian's attempt to enlist under Lip'a name everyone worked quickly to figure out how they would move to a new city and keep their home. They couldn't afford to stay in Hillwood, miss the rent payments and come back to find a new place. There was no way they could afford it.

The squirrel fund was tucked away. Debbie had offered to help by withdrawing some money from her bank account. They hoped that would only need to only stay for a short time—a few months if necessary. Debbie and Ian's school was going to have work with them about their schoolwork. Ian offered going by a Barnes and Noble and filching a computer from an unsuspecting Starbucks customer. Fiona let out an angry hiss and sigh telling Lip that he shouldn't jeopardize his chance to go to the University of Chicago.

With the money she received from the stranger in the SUV she'd be able to buy a laptop from Best Buy. From time to time they offered closeout deals on computers. Fiona hoped she could buy a computer for about two to three hundred dollars. With their plan in place the laptop would allow Debbie and Carl to do their homework and submit online. As for classes like Art it could always be made up during summer school.

The laptop would also afford Fiona the ability to look for work, submit resumes, and try to find an apartment. It seemed that like Canaryville in the South Side it was an inner city borough which meant that they might be able to find a good deal on an apartment. A one room apartment or a studio might be a cramp fit but it was nothing new to them growing up. Debbie, Carl and Liam would take the bed and Fiona and Lip would take the floor. Course if able they'd take the crib. They would have to stuff clothes into the couple suitcases and one duffel bag they had had. The rest of their things would have to be put into the large garbage bags.

By the week's end they had found several possibilities regarding their housing; however, once again they'd need Frank to sign the papers. The Gallagher children did not want to stir the hornet's nest that was Monica Gallagher. Knowing her she'd demand that she'd take Liam and possibly Carl and Debbie off their hands for special mother bonding. Worse still, she'd have them take her with them with the chaos and pain that would follow.

That left Frank Gallagher who had been slumming under the bridge, sleeping in the subway terminals, at the shelter, in the park and anywhere he could. With another notice to their neighbors, and patrons at Kev's bar they found Frank soon enough. With a threat to break Frank's hand, Lip managed to have him sign the necessary paperwork.

Monica's car still sat in their front yard. Because of the car accident she was made to pay for the accident which at least was minor enough where the car did not have to be impounded. Fiona looked online for the cheapest insurance and knew she'd have to contact Monica. Fiona went to the house of Monica's girlfriend and told Monica that some partial truth that if she sold the car for a small, insignificant amount of money she could turn the title to Fiona. When all was said and done Fiona would sell the car back for the same amount.

With everything settled they headed to Hillwood. The apartments required an extensive credit check, a deposit that they could really afford, and that did not want to rent to so many Gallaghers in a small cramped space. Fiona knew that it was because of the damn credit cards Frank had opened in their name. He was an asshole. Not only that, he was an asshole who had ruined their near future in getting a car, a new place, and anything that required good credit.

The last stop was a boarding house. Fiona had liked the idea of having a rent that covered laundry, and home cooked meals. The rent was a bit more than she would have liked but the perks were great enough that she'd pay the extra expense. She had faxed their application and hoped it was enough time. Fiona knocked on the door when she was greeted with what the Gallaghers could only assume as a crazy, old woman.

"Mary, Queen of Scots!" She exclaimed to Fiona, "It seems that somehow you escaped your beheading. I knew you had faked your death! You wily, cunning woman you!"

Lip stared with a disbelieving face. "Great we choose the place with the crazy old woman."

"Hey shut up," Fiona said angrily, "at least they offer the amendities that we don't have to pay for and food that doesn't come out of cans. I can seriously do without canned vegetables."

They all entered the establishment and were lead to the living room. With the faded wallpaper, the well-worn couches, it was something that made Fiona feel at ease. At least it was something they were all used to even if they were in much better condition. Phil entered the living room and told them to not mind his Pookie as she simply had her own sense of humor.

"So what I can do for you?" Phil asked.

"We need a room" Fiona responded.

"Well we do have one room," he looked at the five Gallaghers, "but you're all going to be boarding in the one room?"

"It's all that we can afford," Fiona told Phil, "It's also nothing new to us."

"The first thing is the credit check we're still waiting for," Phil noticed the older girl's face grow weary and despondent, "but don't necessarily judge on that but we want to make sure you can be timely with your rent."

"We can pay," Fiona urged, "I've been running the household since I was fifteen and I've never been late with rent."

She did not want to talk about the utilities because she knew that if Phil knew about the problems of not being able to meet bills would look bad. She'd do a lie of omission. Fiona didn't lie about the rent money but she'd be damned if she'd shoot herself in the foot.

"What about the deposit?" Lip asked in a voice that was becoming impatient.

"We ask for the first month's rent," Phil answered.

"Which is?" Lip asked.

"It's 450 a month," Phil replied.

"We'll take it," Debbie exclaimed, "We'll so take—"

"Well, look here," Phil interjected, "I didn't say yes to your application."

Gertie shouted for Arnold "Oh give them the okay already. I like Mary. She seems like a good woman."

"Er," Phil frowned then sighed, "As you can see I can't say no to my Pookie. Oh, and she's Gertie to you guys."

That afternoon was spent setting up their room. The bed was large enough to give Debbie and Carl enough room to sleep without fighting for space. The space nearest the bed would be where Liam's crib would be and Fiona would sleep next to the crib. It was going to be a tight fit but she'd manage. The five drawer chest would allow each Gallagher to have their own drawer and any remaining clothes could stay in the luggage, and duffel bag. They had even found blankets in the closet that would be used as a mattress and cover.

Fiona walked out into the hallway taking note of how many rooms there were. She wondered who they were, and whose room she was occupying. There was two places for laundry. One on second floor where the cleaning supplies were housed and one in the basement. There was one bathroom but they'd have to make do. They would have to learn when the others would take their turns and make sure to work around that. Debbie and Carl would have the easiest time because they'd have a more consistent schedule.

Whereas Fiona and Lip would have to when they had the chance. She walked down to the kitchen and smelled with dinner cooking on the stove cooking. It smelled good and it had been a long time since they'd have anything home-cooked that didn't involve freezer burn, microwaves and cans.

"It smells delicious," Fiona said smiling.

"Why thank you dear," Gertie smiled, "we serve dinner at six p.m. but if you can't make don't fret we can always leave a plate for you in the fridge."

Fiona smiled feeling the tears in her eyes. It was a long time that she could rely on someone else the way she could rely on Gertie. She was always going to be grateful to have neighbors like V and Kev but there was something about Gertie that made her wish she was Fiona's grandmother. Considering her grandmother was such a mean-spirited woman Fiona guessed anyone would have been better.

"Grandma," a young man entered the kitchen, "What's cooking?"

"Tacos, and enchiladas with a side of rice and beans," Gertie responded, "and we're going to celebrate cinco de Mayo!"

Fiona thought to herself "but it's still January." However it seemed that this was a common occurrence and felt she had no right to judge. It seemed Gertie's grandson finally took notice. He smiled and offered his hand introducing himself as Arnold.

"Yeah," Fiona nodded, "I'm the new tenant. I just came today."

"How long do you plan on staying," Arnold asked.

"Not sure to be honest," Fiona responded, "I had some business to take care of here and it depends on long it takes."

Arnold didn't pry and Fiona was grateful. She returned to their room and told the others about dinner, where the laundry room was and how there was only one bathroom. They'd have to make do but at least they didn't have to spend money on food or laundry. That was going to allow them to save money by not having to spend so much at the laundromat.

At six p.m. the Gallaghers gathered at the kitchen. Arnold looked up in surprise. He hadn't expected to find five of them much less them boarding in one room. Fiona explained that they couldn't afford more than one bedroom and a boarding house was the best choice in the long run. She also told Arnold that they were very much used to having to make do in extenuating circumstances.

With their bellies full, Carl and Debbie did their homework and submitted it online. The two were very happy when Arnold offer to help them with their homework. Fiona smiled at the kid and was surprised at what a good kid he was despite the fact that he had not seen his parents since he was a kid. She figured that having such great grandparents helped.

Fiona sat the dinner table drinking a cup of tea when Arnold's grandparents settled at the dinner table. The three discussed her immediate future with her asking if they knew of any places that were hiring. She stressed that she'd take anything she could get. She told them about the eight jobs she had worked, and the kind of jobs she had worked. They were impressed at her work ethic and dedication in helping raise her brothers and sister.

Phil sat there pensively thinking. He looked over beyond Fiona and looked at the place around them. He noticed that the boarding house was becoming more and more run down. They were getting older and it was becoming more and more difficult doing maintenance and housecleaning much less repairs. He told Fiona about their plan.

Fiona smiled feeling once again tears at their kindness and compassion. She couldn't understand how they could survive with such kindness without being abused of their kindness. They had essentially allowed a rent reduction if she could help with housecleaning and helping around the house. Fiona had told them that Lip was basically Tony Stark genius and could definitely help with the repairs. In the end they reduced the rent by a hundred dollars. With three hundred and fifty dollars a month, it would make life much more doable. At least their squirrel fun could help keep their home, afford the room at Sunset Arms, and save up for the future.

She'd still have to find part-time work but having the burden lessened a bit it allowed her to relax more than she had ever felt in her life. Fiona couldn't remember the last time she'd ever felt this relaxed even before Monica abandoned them she could never fully relax always fearing what her parents would pull next. Fiona walked up the stairs and told her brothers and sister about the situation.

"Fuck," Lip said disbelievingly, "people like them actually exist?"

"Apparently," Fiona confirmed, "and it's a wonder how they've been able to stay so positive and not used the hell out of their money."

Debbie had fallen asleep with a huge grin on her face. She was quickly become attached to Gertie. She always became attached quickly. Fiona feared the time they'd have to eventually depart and head back home. Debbie would be devastated. She doubt Carl would miss his school too much given the bullshit they seemed so content to throw at them.

"You know that we can't stay here long term," Lip said breaking the silence knowing what Fiona was thinking.

"I know but Debbie and Carl are so happy here," Fiona said tiredly, "I hate how Debbie is going to react when we have to leave."

"Yeah but our life is there," Lip replied, "besides our life is bound to catch up with us and I don't really want these guys to get in the crossfire."

"I know," Fiona said exasperatedly, "I'd hate to think what would happen if Frank knew about us living much less finding out where we lived."

"Don't forget that we Ian facing some really fucked up consequences," Lip said in an angry whisper, "It's probably going to fuck all of us in the long run. At least we have the house already set and if Phil and Gertie learn about it they might not want to keep us here."

"Well let's get some sleep," Fiona smiled, "we have a busy day tomorrow. I can do the shit in the morning and you can head to the base and find out what's going on."

The next morning they all had their fill of breakfast that included coffee, tea, pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon. They couldn't figure out how they were able to afford all of this food but they wouldn't reject gift horse in the mouth. Fiona quickly cleaned the house, did some light maintenance while Lip had said they'd fix the water heater, and the old Packard in the afternoon.

Debbie and Carl had been much happier at the fact that they were basically given the ability to find work such as babysitting given that they were basically in a homeschool situation. With some recommendations Debbie was able to find some babysitting jobs that had great pay and sometimes allowed her full day jobs a couple times a week. While the parents had worried about how legal it was Debbie simply assured them that if they didn't say anything she would gladly not say anything.

Arnold seemed concerned that Debbie and Carl weren't able to basically play as children. He talked about Gerald's field where he and his friends around the neighborhood would play baseball. Fiona smile tightened as she always hated when people looked down at their Gallagher family. She didn't want to disclose too much information about their family nor did she want Arnold calling the CPS about the situation.

"Listen Arnold," Fiona faked a smile, "you're a good kid with a heart of gold. You don't find that often now days but…"

"They deserve to have a childhood, to be kids, to not have to worry about bills and…"

Fiona raised her hand shushing Arnold. "Look I get it and I totally agree but we've never been a situation where that was possible. I'm not going to get into my family history but none of us, myself included, have ever had that privilege. You know what… that is a privilege. So don't come here with your sanctimonious speech as if you know what we've been through. Believe me when I say this: we've been through enough bullshit that we don't have that privilege."

Arnold frowned and looked away. "Sorry I was concerned about Debbie, Carl and Liam."

"I thank you for that, I really do," Fiona could feel tears forming again, "but trust me you have no idea what it's like."

"Hey, I grew up without my parents, and not knowing if they're still alive," Arnold frowned.

Fiona let out a choked laugh. "Are you kidding? I wish I didn't have parents."

"How could you even say that?" Arnold frowned, getting angry at the fact that someone would want to be in his situation.

"Because my dad is a complete asshole and my mom is even worse," Fiona growled out, "and don't even get me started on my relative. I hate assholes like you who mope about not having parents and totally not realizing how damn lucky you are!"

"I am not lucky," Arnold said in complete utter dismay, "I am thankful for my grandparents but when they die, I'm completely and utterly alone and that scares me."

"I'm sorry," Fiona said after a long pregnant pause, "I shouldn't have said that."

The two sat there quietly drinking their tea and eating some biscuits. Fiona was quickly falling in love the assortment of teas. It gave her a time of respite from the turbulent times that they would all soon be facing. She sat there pensively the spoke in a quiet voice.

"Your grandma is awesome even if calls me Mary," Fiona said as looked down at her tea.

"I know," Arnold said as quietly, "I've been lucky to have her in my life. I've had an interesting life to say the least."

He took another sip of his tea and looked out the kitchen window. The two had a silent agreement that he wouldn't pry too much and respect her distance and let her decide how much she'd disclose. Fiona could only look at the kitchen that she helped clean.

"So interesting life?" Fiona asked.

Arnold smiled and nodded. "She mixes up holidays, which I once didn't like, but I've grown to love immensely. She likes to call people by famous people names. She has the weirdest birthday wishes like walking through a tub of cooked noodles which turned into a noodle fight."

Fiona let out a real laugh. "That sounds amazing. I wish I had a grandmother like that."

"Your grandmother isn't like that?" Arnold asked slowly.

"No," Fiona said, playing with the mug in her hand, letting out a long sigh, "my maternal grandmother wants nothing to do with us and I've talked to her maybe a handful of times. My paternal grandmother… she was a real piece of work. I was glad when she died. She wasn't a good person at all."

"Wishing someone dead is pretty grave," Arnold quickly went quiet when he saw Fiona's look of quit-the-preaching, "sorry."

"No, no you're right," Fiona relented and decided to let out a small detail, "she was in jail for a long time because she was cooking meth and an explosion resulted in killing one of her associates. Then she started up again trying to teach Carl which resulted in an explosion that burned off his eyebrows."

Arnold's eyes widened. When Fiona had revealed a little about her family she seemed so hesitant, worried and ashamed. Yet with what seemed like a trouble childhood and adulthood she had stayed so steadfastly by her family, her brothers and sisters. He took a long sip of his tea and finally spoke up. Fiona breathing hitched as if worried about what he'd say next.

"We're not going to judge you because of your family," Arnold explained to Fiona whose tense shoulders relaxed, "if anything you and your siblings are extraordinary at surviving the way you did, I've only known of one other person who could as well."

"Who?" Fiona prodded right back.

"Her name's Helga," Arnold said looking back out the kitchen, "She grew up with shitty parents but right now she's boarding at Hillwood Academy."

The conversation turned light as Arnold could see Fiona could do with some light conversation. It was becoming late and both had their own reasons for getting up early. Arnold had to get ready for school and Fiona had her job in the boarding house. Fiona had the first month paid but knew she was going to have to find a second job so that she could start saving for the Gallaghers' squirrel fund. She'd also have to see on the progress Lip made on finding Ian and getting him to come clean. Fiona could only hope Ian didn't mess his life up and have a second chance.


End file.
